You say you want a revolution…

I really enjoyed reading Clarence Fisher’s recent post on why no one he knows has been fired over advocating connected learning (http://remoteaccess.typepad.com/remote_access/2009/01/the-death-of-bi.html). He makes some wonderful points about whether or not we are as revolutionary as we claim to be (as Edupunks or otherwise). His most interesting point though is the idea that there are no new ideas that are really sparking debate or lighting fires under people so that they really buck the system.
 
Well, I would say that he is right in many respects. Blogs just aren’t as hot button of an issue that they used to be. And, to a certain extent, educational technology has been coopted by many districts in order to show that they are moving in the right direction. I still wouldn’t go as far as saying that there are not (or have not been in the recent past) any revolutionary ideas in the edublogosphere.
 
The revolution is in the details now. It is in making things actually work for people. It may not be a single big idea, but in the articulation and execution. I can’t believe just how many new pieces I am putting together for the first time and how many barriers to learning I am breaking down for myself and others.
 
For example: Although I have blogged for nearly six years now, I am just now starting to leverage blogs for others in ways that actually make sense to them. Although I have been video conferencing since high school, it is just now possible to get people to meet without having to set up a place to hold us. And although I have tagged over 2500 bookmarks, I didn’t really understand how powerful tags can be for putting information at other’s fingertips.
 
In short, the big idea that is left is in bringing the power of learning networks to everyone. If he or anyone else has figured that one out, I will forever hold my blog.
 
And as for the big idea in the classroom, the one that will get you fired for sure:
 
Open everything. Grade nothing.
 
If anyone is willing to try and have all student projects be open and assign no grades whatsoever (in the hopes of actually providing an authentic learning experience), I wish them luck. I think the only reason why people aren’t getting fired more is that they know theirs schools are better places because of them and their kids are better off with them as their teachers. They won’t go after total openness because, to a certain extent, they can create more change if they create more and revolt less.
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Comment on Educational Insanity’s Blog post

This blog post is taken from a comment I wrote on Educational Insanity’s blog post, Reflections from NECC – Equity, Diversity, Social Justice. I thought is was important enough to repeat it here.

I really appreciate your honest assessment of NECC 2008. Although I cannot be there in person (my wife is ready to give birth any day now), I did want to show support for sessions that discuss issues of diversity, equity, and social justice. I’m not sure how to deal with the (perceived?) lack of racial diversity in the edublogosphere or at the Blogger’s Cafe, but I do think that we need to be reaching out. Do you know if Taking It Global (http://takingitglobal.org) is doing a session at NECC? Getting someone from that organization to come into the Blogging arena of NECC would go a long way to ushering in an air of social justice and diversity.

The other question I have is about the diversity of the conference in general. If there is a lack of diversity (or at least a lack of people talking about it), is that because the people that are attending are mostly getting their school districts to pay for it? If a school district cannot buy books (as is the case in the documentary that you just mentioned, which I hadn’t heard of because I don’t get HBO… Is there some other way I can see it?), how can they send teachers to a (fairly) pricey conference.

Talk about equity, the conference should have scholarships for districts that are looking to be forward thinking, but don’t have the funds. (Is this something that is possible.)

I would love to have a larger debate in the edubloggosphere about the issues of equity, diversity, and social justice, but I wonder how valuable it can be for a white folks (of which I am one) to debate the issues without getting some voices outside of the echo chamber to take part. Any ideas?

Creating the School 2.0 Movement

I have become dissatisfied with talking about School 2.0 only among educators. It seems to be this feedback loop that creates a lot of noise, but in the end, really doesn’t create any massive change. So, I am proposing a change in tactics. We need to begin talking to anyone who has the time to listen about School 2.0. We need to show them artifacts of authentic learning so that they know just how effective it can be. We need to get outside of the blogosphere and podcast communities, and talk to the parents that don’t get it yet. Although “consciousness raising” is important amongst teachers, it really should be our only tactic in bring about a transformation in education. Most of this is why I will be starting up another podcast over at The Podcast Network. I am looking for educators and non-educators alike to interview, anyone who is willing to think critically about the shared vision of student-centered education. Please contact me for details.

• 00:00:00: Introduction to Busy Week
  Academy of Discovery Model

• 00:01:14: Blogging Class
  Blogging in the Classroom Presentation

• 00:02:16: The Podcast Network
  My Interview with Cameron Riley

• 00:04:47: The School 2.0 Movement

  The Discovery -Ism Project

• 00:06:48: Learning without Gatekeeping
• 00:09:04: Home vs. School 2.0
• 00:11:05: Plea for Interviews
  My e-mail address

• 00:12:49: Conclusion with info.
  The podcast blog

Is School 2.0 just a fad?

Although there is a lot of talk about School 2.0 among those in the edublogosphere, I believe that many educators are going to try and wait out the torrent of technology integration that they currently are experiencing because they believe that it is merely a fad that will eventually go away. If we are serious about this type of systemic change, we need to be able to convince everyone that School 2.0 is not a fad. In this podcast I came up with a few observations about the nature of School 2.0:

1. We need a watershed collaborative School 2.0 event that causes all educators to take notice (I’m thinking of a hybrid between the numbers on myspace with the education of the K12 Online Conference (http://k12onlineconference.org/))
2. Once you give students the power to create their own learning, you can never take it back (nor would most teachers who have tried it, want to take it back).
3. Students are clamoring for School 2.0 classrooms, even if they don’t know that is what they are looking for.
4. School 2.0 is not a fad because it doesn’t repackage something that has come before (like many movements in education). It is truly something new.

Show/Chapter Notes:

• 00:00:00: Edtechlive Springboard
  Steven Hargadon and David Warlick

• 00:03:51: Is School 2.0 a Fad?
  David Warlick’s Blog
  Steve Hargadon’s Blog

• 00:06:28: The Definitive School 2.0 Event
  School 2.0 by the Department of Education

• 00:09:54: Framing Change
• 00:12:38: School 2.0 is different because the students say it it’s different.
• 00:15:52: Changing Professional Development
• 00:18:01: Conclusion
  My Blog